Latino film moves into broader market

The two companies releasing "Under the Same Moon" say they are attempting the unusual trick of wooing both the English-speaking art-house audience and the mass Latino audience.

Called "La Misma Luna" in Spanish, the subtitled film follows a boy who travels from Mexico to L.A. in search of his mother, an illegal immigrant working to make a better life for him.

The U.S.-Mexican pro-duction, which opens Wednesday in Chicago and about 31 other cities, is the first Latino-centered movie that Fox Searchlight has distributed, reflecting the studios' interest in tapping into a rapidly growing market.

Of course, there's the chance of a backlash from those who think illegal immigrants are criminals, not worthy of this tender portrayal.

"I don't expect there to be a backlash," says Nancy Utley, chief operating officer of Fox Searchlight. "It's more an emotional movie than a political movie."

Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Co. are releasing "Moon" in more than 250 theaters -- art houses as well as mainstream mall multiplexes near Latino neighborhoods. The unusual midweek opening is to give families a chance to see it in the days leading up to Easter.